Ann Shaw -
"I am a writer/artist based in Scotland. After working as a Feature Writer on the Glasgow Herald I went to Glasgow School of Art as a mature student.
Check out my web-site: annshaw.co.uk "
Contact- annshaw

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Painting with mud

I’ve “discovered” painting
with mud.

(Gasp! horror- I usually work
digitally)

How did this come about?

Well I have just been to
Dollar Summer School.

(Few outside the central belt
of Scotland know about this unique school - now in its 54th year.
Its run by a group of art teachers and operates out of purpose built Art centre
at Dollar Academy thanks to a £1million donation by a former grateful pupil who
made his fortune doing the graphic design for Macdonald hamburger).

Feeling frustrated with
traditional watercolours I began to look around for some new materials to paint
with.

As a long time admirer of Richard Long and AndyGoldsworthy I wondered whether the answer might lie in going right back to our
roots: to the earth that primitive Man first used to decorate their caves.

So I dug up some up from the
garden and experimented.

Our class tutor, wildlife
artist Clare Harkess, offered encouragement and support though the rest of the
class were somewhat bewildered.

Mud behaves like ink with the
added bonus that you can change the consistency -and it’s free!

And the images? I find myself creating a whole menagerie of
strange mythical creatures that look as if they have erupted from the bowels of
the earth during some volcanic explosion.

As we hurtle into the 21st
century into a future that none of us can imagine it is a reminder of where we
have come from…and may one day return.

NB

There are many web sites
devoted to the genre of mud paintings and working with unusual materials. Just
google it.